Coal mining takes place in the three mountainous regions at 45 distinct coal beds near Mesozoic basins.[29] Over 62 million tons of other non-fuel resources, such as slate, kyanite, sand, or gravel, were also mined in Virginia in 2012.[30] The state's carbonate rock is filled with more than 4,000 caves, ten of which are open for tourism.[31] 35 million years ago, a bolide impacted what is now eastern Virginia. The resulting crater may explain sinking and earthquakes in the region.[32]

The climate of Virginia is humid subtropical and becomes increasingly warmer and more humid farther south and east.[33] Seasonal extremes vary from average lows of 26 °F (−3 °C) in January to average highs of 86 °F (30 °C) in July. The Atlantic Ocean has a strong effect on eastern and southeastern coastal areas of the state. Influenced by the Gulf Stream, coastal weather is subject to hurricanes, most pronouncedly near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.[34] In spite of its position adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, even the coastal areas have a significant continental influence with quite large temperature differences between summer and winter, particularly given the state climate's subtropical classification, which is typical of states in the Upper South.

Virginia has an annual average of 35–45 days of thunderstorm activity, particularly in the western part of the state,[35] and an average annual precipitation of 42.7 inches (108 cm).[34] Cold air masses arriving over the mountains in winter can lead to significant snowfalls, such as the Blizzard of 1996 and winter storms of 2009–2010. The interaction of these elements with the state's topography creates distinct microclimates in the Shenandoah Valley, the mountainous southwest, and the coastal plains.[36] Virginia averages seven tornadoes annually, most F2 or lower on the Fujita scale.[37]

Ecosystem

Forests cover 65% of the state, primarily with deciduous, broad leaf trees in the western part of the state and evergreens and conifers dominant the central and eastern part of Virginia.[42] Lower altitudes are more likely to have small but dense stands of moisture-loving hemlocks and mosses in abundance, with hickory and oak in the Blue Ridge.[33] However, since the early 1990s, Gypsy moth infestations have eroded the dominance of oak forests.[43] In the lowland tidewater and piedmont, yellow pines tend to dominate, with bald cypress wetland forests in the Great Dismal and Nottoway swamps. Other common trees and plants include red bay, wax myrtle, dwarf palmetto, tulip poplar, mountain laurel, milkweed, daisies, and many species of ferns. The largest areas of wilderness are along the Atlantic coast and in the western mountains, where the largest populations of trillium wildflowers in North America are found.[33][44] The Atlantic coast regions are host to flora commonly associated with the South Atlantic pine forests and lower Southeast Coastal Plain maritime flora, the latter found primarily in eastern and central Virginia.

Mammals include white-tailed deer, black bear, beaver, bobcat, coyote, raccoon, skunk, groundhog, Virginia opossum, gray fox, red fox, and eastern cottontail rabbit.[45] Other mammals include: nutria, fox squirrel, gray squirrel, flying squirrel, chipmunk, brown bat, and weasel. Birds include cardinals (the state bird), barred owls, Carolina chickadees, red-tailed hawks, ospreys, brown pelicans, quail, seagulls, bald eagles, and wild turkeys. Virginia is also home to the pileated woodpecker as well as the red-bellied woodpecker. The peregrine falcon was reintroduced into Shenandoah National Park in the mid-1990s.[46] Walleye, brook trout, Roanoke bass, and blue catfish are among the 210 known species of freshwater fish.[47] Running brooks with rocky bottoms are often inhabited by plentiful amounts of crayfish and salamanders.[33] The Chesapeake Bay is host to many species, including blue crabs, clams, oysters, and rockfish (also known as striped bass).[48]

History

"Jamestown 2007" marked Virginia's quadricentennial year, celebrating 400 years since the establishment of the Jamestown Colony. The celebrations highlighted contributions from Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans, each of which had a significant part in shaping Virginia's history.[54][55] Warfare, including among these groups, has also had an important role. Virginia was a focal point in conflicts from the French and Indian War, the American Revolution and the Civil War, to the Cold War and the War on Terrorism.[56] Stories about historic figures, such as those surrounding Pocahontas and John Smith, George Washington's childhood, or the plantation elite in the slave society of the antebellum period, have also created potent myths of state history, and have served as rationales for Virginia's ideology.[57]

Colony

The first people are estimated to have arrived in Virginia over 12,000 years ago.[58] By 5,000 years ago more permanent settlements emerged, and farming began by 900 AD. By 1500, the Algonquian peoples had founded towns such as Werowocomoco in the Tidewater region, which they referred to as Tsenacommacah. The other major language groups in the area were the Siouan to the west, and the Iroquoians, who included the Nottoway and Meherrin, to the north and south. After 1570, the Algonquians consolidated under Chief Powhatan in response to threats from these other groups on their trade network.[59] Powhatan controlled more than 30 smaller tribes and over 150 settlements, who shared a common Virginia Algonquian language. In 1607, the native Tidewater population was between 13,000 and 14,000.[60]

Life in the colony was perilous, and many died during the Starving Time in 1609 and the Anglo-Powhatan Wars, including the Indian massacre of 1622, which fostered the colonists' negative view of all tribes.[68] By 1624, only 3,400 of the 6,000 early settlers had survived.[69] However, European demand for tobacco fueled the arrival of more settlers and servants.[70] The headright system tried to solve the labor shortage by providing colonists with land for each indentured servant they transported to Virginia.[71] African workers were first imported to Jamestown in 1619 initially under the rules of indentured servitude. The shift to a system of African slavery in Virginia was propelled by the legal cases of John Punch, who was sentenced to lifetime slavery in 1640 for attempting to run away,[72] and of John Casor, who was claimed by Anthony Johnson as his servant for life in 1655.[73] Slavery first appears in Virginia statutes in 1661 and 1662, when a law made it hereditary based on the mother's status.[74]

During the post-war Reconstruction era, Virginia adopted a constitution which provided for free public schools, and guaranteed political, civil, and voting rights.[94] The populist Readjuster Party ran an inclusive coalition until the conservative white Democratic Party gained power after 1883.[95] It passed segregationist Jim Crow laws and in 1902 rewrote the Constitution of Virginia to include a poll tax and other voter registration measures that effectively disfranchised most African Americans and many poor European Americans.[96] Though their schools and public services were segregated and underfunded due to a lack of political representation, African Americans were able to unite in communities and take a greater role in Virginia society.[97]

The largest minority group in Virginia is African American, at 19.7% as of 2015[update].[126] Most African American Virginians have been descendants of enslaved Africans who worked on tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantations. These men, women and children were brought from West and West-Central Africa, primarily from Angola and the Bight of Biafra. The Igbo ethnic group of what is now southern Nigeria were the single largest African group among slaves in Virginia.[137] Though the black population was reduced by the Great Migration, since 1965 there has been a reverse migration of blacks returning south.[138] According to the Pew Research Center, the state has the highest concentration of black and white interracial marriages.[139]

More recent immigration in the late 20th century and early 21st century has fueled new communities of Hispanics and Asians. As of 2015[update], 9.0% of Virginians are Hispanic or Latino (of any race), and 6.5% are Asian.[126] The state's Hispanic population rose by 92% from 2000 to 2010, with two-thirds of Hispanics living in Northern Virginia.[136] Hispanic citizens in Virginia have higher median household incomes and educational attainment than the general Virginia population.[140] As far as Hispanic groups, there is a large Salvadoran population in the DC suburbs of Northern Virginia,[141] and a large Puerto Rican population in the Hampton Roads region of Southeast Virginia.[142] Northern Virginia also has a significant population of Vietnamese Americans, whose major wave of immigration followed the Vietnam War,[143] and Korean Americans, whose migration has been more recent and was induced in part by the quality school system.[144] The Filipino American community has about 45,000 in the Hampton Roads area, many of whom have ties to the U.S. Navy and armed forces.[145]

In November 2006, 15 conservative Episcopal churches voted to split from the Diocese of Virginia over the ordination of openly gay bishops and clergy in other dioceses of the Episcopal Church; these churches continue to claim affiliation with the larger Anglican Communion through other bodies outside the United States. Though Virginia law allows parishioners to determine their church's affiliation, the diocese claimed the secessionist churches' buildings and properties. The resulting property law case, ultimately decided in favor of the mainline diocese, was a test for Episcopal churches nationwide.[156]

Virginia has one of the highest concentrations of veterans of any state,[176] and is second to California in total Department of Defense employees.[174][177] The Hampton Roads area has the largest concentration of military personnel and assets of any metropolitan area in the world,[178] including the largest naval base in the world, Naval Station Norfolk.[113] In its state government, Virginia employs 106,143 public employees, who combined have a median income of $44,656 as of 2013[update].[179]

Business

Virginia has the highest concentration of technology workers of any state,[180] and the fourth-highest number of technology workers after California, Texas, and New York.[181]Computer chips became the state's highest-grossing export in 2006, surpassing its traditional top exports of coal and tobacco combined,[182] reaching a total export value of $717 million in 2015.[183]Northern Virginia, once considered the state's dairy capital, now hosts software, communication technology, defense contracting companies, particularly in the Dulles Technology Corridor.

Virginia companies received the fourth-highest amount of venture capital funding in the first half of 2011 after California, Massachusetts, and New York.[188] In 2009, Forbes magazine named Virginia the best state in the nation for business for the fourth year in a row,[189] while CNBC named it the top state for business in 2007, 2009, and 2011.[190] Additionally, in 2014 a survey of 12,000 small business owners found Virginia to be one of the most friendly states for small businesses.[191] Virginia has 20 Fortune 500 companies, ranking the state eighth nationwide.[192]Tysons Corner is one of the largest business districts in the nation.

Agriculture

Agriculture occupies 32% of the land in Virginia. As of 2012[update], about 357,000 Virginian jobs were in agriculture, with over 47,000 farms, averaging 171 acres (0.27 sq mi; 0.69 km2), in a total farmland area of 8.1 million acres (12,656 sq mi; 32,780 km2). Though agriculture has declined significantly since 1960 when there were twice as many farms, it remains the largest single industry in Virginia.[196] Tomatoes surpassed soy as the most profitable crop in Virginia in 2006, with peanuts and hay as other agricultural products.[197] Although it is no longer the primary crop, Virginia is still the fifth-largest producer of tobacco nationwide.[198]

Taxes

Virginia collects personal income tax in five income brackets, ranging from 3.0% to 5.75%. The state sales and use tax rate is 4.3%, while the tax rate on food is 1.5%. There is an additional 1% local tax, for a total of a 5.3% combined sales tax on most Virginia purchases and 2.5% on most food.[202] Virginia's property tax is set and collected at the local government level and varies throughout the Commonwealth. Real estate is also taxed at the local level based on 100% of fair market value. Tangible personal property also is taxed at the local level and is based on a percentage or percentages of original cost.[203]

PublicK–12 schools in Virginia are generally operated by the counties and cities, and not by the state. As of 2011[update], a total of 1,267,063 students were enrolled in 1,873 local and regional schools in the Commonwealth, including three charter schools, and an additional 109 alternative and special education centers across 132 school divisions.[241][242] Besides the general public schools in Virginia, there are Governor's Schools and selective magnet schools. The Governor's Schools are a collection of more than 40 regional high schools and summer programs intended for gifted students.[243] The Virginia Council for Private Education oversees the regulation of 320 state accredited and 130 non-accredited private schools.[244][245] An additional 24,682 students receive homeschooling.[246]

Virginia has a mixed health record, and is ranked as the 26th overall healthiest state according to the 2013 United Health Foundation's Health Rankings.[259] Virginia also ranks 21st among the states in the rate of premature deaths, 6,816 per 100,000. In 2008, Virginia reached its lowest ever rate of infant mortality, at 6.7 deaths per 1,000.[260] There are however racial and social health disparities, in 2010 African Americans experienced 28% more premature deaths than whites, while 13% of Virginians lack any health insurance. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2009 survey, 26% of Virginians are obese and another 35% are overweight. 78% of residents claim to have exercised at least once in the past three months.[261][262] About 30% of Virginia's 10- to 17-year-olds are overweight or obese.[263] Virginia banned smoking in bars and restaurants in January 2010.[264] 19% of Virginians smoke tobacco.[259] Residents of Virginia's 8th congressional district share the longest average life expectancy rate in the nation, over 83 years.[265]

Because of the 1932 Byrd Road Act, the state government controls most of Virginia's roads, instead of a local county authority as is usual in other states.[271] As of 2011[update], the Virginia Department of Transportation owns and operates 57,867 miles (93,128 km) of the total 70,105 miles (112,823 km) of roads in the state, making it the third largest state highway system in the United States.[272] Although the Washington Metropolitan Area, which includes Northern Virginia, has the second worst traffic in the nation, Virginia as a whole has the 21st-lowest congestion and the average commute time is 26.9 minutes.[273][274] Virginia hit peak car usage before the year 2000, making it one of the first such states.[275]

Law and government

In colonial Virginia, free men elected the lower house of the legislature, called the House of Burgesses, which together with the Governor's Council, made the "General Assembly". Founded in 1619, the Virginia General Assembly is still in existence as the oldest legislature in the Western Hemisphere.[284] In 2008, the government was ranked by the Pew Center on the States with an A− in terms of its efficiency, effectiveness, and infrastructure, tied with Utah and Washington. This was the second consecutive time that Virginia received the highest grade in the nation.[12]

^Lieberson, Stanley & Waters, Mary C. (1986). "Ethnic Groups in Flux: The Changing Ethnic Responses of American Whites". Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 487 (79): 82–86. doi:10.1177/0002716286487001004.